Last weekend Newegg.com held Lanfest
2K5 in Pasadena, California. Having just been introduced to computer
gaming, I checked it out for myself and for BoxGods.com. Read on for
the perspective of an interested newcomer. Why didn't someone tell
me there were hot chicks at these things?

Let's GO

Online registration was easy, but I got
stuck having to pay through Paypal®. I would have preferred just
entering the information once. Instead I had to register for Paypal®
first, but it all went smoothly. The venue was easily accessible
with ample parking. A major plus for someone unfamiliar with
Pasadena.

Unfortunately, I could not make the
first day of the event, but Sunday check-in was a breeze. The staff
was eager to please and had me on my way within minutes. I arrived
around 9:30 am and suspected most of the gamers were recuperating from
Saturday as the majority of the tables only had a representative
present who was just starting to set up for the day. My thinking was validated when I
checked out the main area and found guys crashed out on the couches.

I am scattering a few pictures in here
in no particular order--there was a lot going on at any one time so it
was a bit chaotic =)

LAN Parties Are All About Gaming

There was a large screen that displayed
the action from the tournament with live play by play and a BYOC area
with 400 computers set up with free-for-all games taking place.

BYOC was set up with the following
games in most every skill level and a wide range of computers being
used :

CounterStrike 1.6 - CounterStrike Source - Half Life 2 Deathmatch

Battlefield Vietnam
- Battlefield 1942
- Battlefield 2

Call of Duty
- Painkiller
- Unreal
Tournament 2K4

A whole lot of gaming goodness was goin' on!!

I didn’t make it into the tournament
area, but the tournament games being shown on large screen kicked
ass. Rows of couches were set up theater style for everyone to enjoy
the show. And the action was unreal. CounterStrike Source and
CounterStrike 1.6 each had 16 teams of 5. Call of Duty had 8 teams
of 5. From the few awards I saw being handed out, the teams where
made up of players from all over the US.

The play by play on the games really
added to the excitement with the action even more enhanced by the big
screen view jumping from player to player giving the audience a
chance to see what was around the corner or how different teams
worked together. You couldn’t stop yourself from watching the
action, and there was always a crowd